China’s Yuan Hits Highest Level Since August Amid COVID-19 Restrictions Lifting
A woman walks by a money exchange shop decorated with different countries currency banknotes at Central, a business district in Hong Kong, Aug. 6, 2019.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The central bank of China began the week by strengthening the national currency amid COVID-19 restrictions’ lifting for those entering from abroad, setting the yuan against the US dollar at 6.8265 on Monday. The yuan’s average exchange rate against the US dollar on Monday has risen by 647 basis points to 6.8265 – its highest level since August 22, 2022. In March 2022, the Chinese authorities announced their intention to maintain a stable yuan exchange rate and to implement a prudent monetary policy with a view to preventing financial risks and supporting economic growth. In December, China’s government started to gradually ease its zero tolerance anti-COVID-19 restrictions. Among other things, the authorities have introduced the abolition of indiscriminate PCR testing, the ability for asymptomatic citizens or those with mild symptoms to remain in home isolation, lifting restrictions on online and offline purchases of antipyretics, and accelerating the vaccination of older people. On January 8, obligatory PCR tests and centralized isolation for people arriving to China were canceled.
